Who would have thought this two weeks ago? That Man City would score two goals in Paris, and hold PSG to a draw and before kicking off at the Etihad, they would be in pole position to advance to their very first Champions League semi-final?
Pellegrini has had a very weird last few months. They've gone from possible Premiership winners to hanging onto fourth spot and he's been told of his replacement many months before his contract officially runs out. But despite all that, he has Man City in this position despite one of their most important players, Yaya, out of the picture. And just think what it would mean if he was able to win tonight?
Already people are thinking up the possibility of either City meeting their future boss Pep in the semis or final, and how weird and odd that would be. I think it's wrong in my personal view. It's sad that club football has now gotten to a point where we now know where players or managers will be before they've actually moved there, and also whilst the season is still happening. That just makes no sense to me and shouldn't happen.
You don't see that happening in International football.
*Rant Over*
Pellegrini will know PSG will be coming to bring their best game, and will be looking to score first in the game. He must also recognize that despite their great performance in Paris, where they really shouldn't have conceded that silly goal from Ibra, they are facing a team that is better than them if we go purely by talent. So he's got to get his team to play the game of their lives again and be at their very best. Take inspiration from what they were able to do in Paris, and build upon that with the mindset of scoring goals and even going out to just win the game outright.
City and Pellegrini's philosophy is not really built on holding onto a draw with a rearguard performance. They are a very attacking team and they must not change that tonight. It's just about keeping tabs on the danger men to a degree, and ensuring they don't hurt them. Then it's hopefully injecting some juice into Aguero who went to sleep in the first leg and of course, finding a way to strategically place De Bruyne in dangerous positions to cause the most damage. HH
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